


How Tony and Bruce Became Tony and Bruce in Alphabetical Order (Because Bruce Likes Things in Alphabetical Order)

by forthosebelow



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, handjobs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-02-04 04:47:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1765984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forthosebelow/pseuds/forthosebelow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Tony and Bruce got together</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Actually, No (#15)

**Author's Note:**

> so this is seriously in alphabetical order and not chronologically. And by alphabetical they are one shots (some at least slightly smutty), they are all connected though, with the chapter title starting with a, then b, then c, you get the picture. Tony and Bruce throughout the alphabet, if you will.
> 
> Also, this is my “write during class when I’m too bored to think” story so it will be updated very, very slowly.

The blush that crawled up Bruce’s cheeks felt very unfamiliar. It had been a long time since he had blushed that hard. A person got used to a lot of things when they were dating Tony Stark, he left no room for embarrassment. But looking up at Captain America as he asked about the nature of your relationship with another man would make a two cent whore blush. Bruce wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality or of his relationship with Tony but he couldn’t help but feel like he was ruining Steve’s innocence.  
“It’s just that I know Bucky and I fooled around together sometimes but, at least for him, that was all it was,” well never mind about Steve’s innocence, “I just figured that’s how you two are.”  
“Actually, no. I think it might have started that way for Tony, at least a little bit. But not anymore. Tony and I are together, in a committed relationship.”  
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. You two are good together.”  
Tony laughed when Bruce told him about the encounter later. After a minute though he exclaimed, “Wait, seriously!? The All American Virgin screwed around with a dude?”  
“Yes, that’s what he said. Are you going to fixate on this?”  
“Do you know what this means? There could be little bastard Rogers running around in Europe somewhere. They’d be like 65 by now and have serious daddy issues and hate Captain America and thusly all of America in general! I bet they’re Nazi sympathizers!”  
“Tony, I don’t think Steve has 65 year old Nazi children.”  
“Or, he’s gay. Can you imagine what the press would do? No one cares about you-no offence-and I’m such a slut a guy isn’t that big of a shock. But an honest to god gay super hero would be great! Captain America, an American icon, being gay! It would be amazing! He would single handedly change the face of history forever. Legal marriage in all fifty states, wider spread acceptance! Gay kids everywhere would worship him. Ellen would worship him, Tim Gunn! Need I go on!”  
“I wouldn’t be 100% sure he’s gay. Sure, he admitted to being sexually involved with another man, but you can’t make assumptions about someone’s sexuality based on one statement.”  
“This is big, Bruce! I need to call Pepper. Get her to set up a press conference. Force Steve to come out of the closet. He’d hate me for that. But he already dose so I wouldn’t be out too much. Oh, and we have to set him up with someone! Bruce, can you see it? Him with the perfect man? He obviously likes guys with dark hair, so, uh, who would that be? Loki? Too evil. That guy down in S.H.E.I.L.D. tech? Too boring, seriously he never shuts up about the stupidest things. Fury? His hair is technically dark. Wait, what am I thinking, Fury’s evil too. Of course there’s one of us but then there couldn’t be an us. Unless, the three of us got into a relationship. Would you mind, Bruce, baby? Of course you wouldn’t! Two gorgeous men at your disposal! Yes that’s perfect. Or, Clint? Not dark haired but similar build to Barnes. Is it too soon for Clint? After Agent died and all? Maybe…”  
“Tony!”  
“Hmm, Bruce?”  
“Did you hear nothing of what I just said?”  
“Well, um…” Bruce shook his head, “And no, Tony, I wouldn’t want to be in a relationship with both of you.” Tony looked shocked for a moment, “Why not? Actually you two would be like perfect together. Both so good and wholesome…”  
“When has anyone described me as wholesome? I just want you, Tony. Not Steve. Not you and Steve. And if Steve is gay, you can’t force him to come out. No. Calling. Pepper.”  
“But, Bruuuuuuuuuuuce…”  
“Whining is not very becoming on you.”  
“But everything is becoming on me.”  
“Yes everything is.” Tony stepped forward and ran his hands down the front of Bruce’s shirt. “Is that a come on, Bruce?” Bruce kissed his boyfriend. “If you want it to be.”  
“But of course.”  
The next kiss was sweeter than it was sexy. Light and breathy without any urgency beneath it. They were in no rush. They had all the time in the world. Unless of course a global or at least national catastrophe was to occur that need the Avengers’ assistants. They let the kiss progress by itself until the friction of their pants were maddening as they rubbed on their cocks. “Please fuck me, Bruce.” Tony begged when it got to that point. “Tony, we don’t have any lube down here and I am not going to hurt you.”  
“We really need to fix that. The lube thing. Not the you not hurting me thing. Unless you want to try that…”  
“Not today, Tony.”  
Tony would have responded if Bruce hadn’t opened both of their pants and gotten out their hard dicks and began to stroke them both. Like the kissing this wasn’t rushed. Bruce taking his time in driving Tony insane. “Bruce…Please!” Bruce complied, speeding up his hand until they both spilled over Bruce’s hand and both their shirts. “I love you, Bruce.”  
“Love you too, Tony.”


	2. Bruce's Past #4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> over half way through the semester and I finally updated... I am so sorry

“So, Doctor Banner? Any bad guys I need to beat up to win your heart? Dragons, perhaps?”  
“No bad guys, Tony.”  
“Then how does one win your heart?”  
“They don’t. The earn it. With sweet, sweet wooing.”  
Tony stuck out his bottom lip. Bruce smiled. “I’m teasing, Tony.”  
“Oh I know. But as long as I get to keep my new favorite play thing,” he smirked down at the front of the scientists pants, “I’m fine. Tease aaaaaall you want.” Bruce rolled his eyes. “Fine Bruce, fine. I won’t win your heart. You’ll win mine. But I want romance and roses and silk sheets and your wonderful self-control.” There was definite sway to his hips as he walked away.  
There were some bad guys from Bruce’s past that their heads on a platter or any other cliché thing, would win his heart immediately. But Tony was an extremist and there was no need to antagonize him into doing something he would regret latter.  
Bruce could remember the first boy he was every with in his senior year of high school. They hadn’t been together and Bruce knew that there wasn’t even really a chance that they could be. He’d been okay with that prospect. He didn’t like the boy and at the time he hadn’t even been totally sure he was attracted to him. It been an experiment, or that’s how he rationalized it, between friends. They were both questioning and they wanted to see. While Bruce did found out that he really was attracted to males and it wasn’t just because he didn’t have a girlfriend, his friend apparently did not reach the same conclusion because he never really spoke to Bruce again, besides an ‘excuse me’ mumbled in a crowded hallway. Bruce missed his friend but he didn’t regret anything. That was until after some whispers started following him. He had never been popular, he had conditioned himself to blend into the background. He was thankful for that then and that in a few months no would remember him enough to whisper about him being gay.  
He wasn’t gay. He was just mostly gay. Bisexual really. Eighty-five percent gay, fifteen percent straight. Or something like that. He had accepted himself. And that was enough for him. Now, Tony was accepting him. Which felt great. Because he wasn’t just accepting him, he understood him, he related. He loved him for who he was. And it didn’t feel like the others who knew and had accepted him before. Natasha, Clint, Steve, and others had accepted him. They respected and loved him regardless of sexuality but Tony was different. Because Tony was…made for him. Bruce felt giddy and ridicules and terrified every time that thought crossed his mind.  
Tony deserved wooing, for his heart to be won, for his demons to be defeated by a knight in shining armor. Instead of a prince though, he was getting a big green monster that was a representation of a child’s broken family. He was getting raw rage mixed with fierce loyalty. He was getting someone too broken and defeated to even know how to do anything more than smash. Tony’s heart could not be smashed. Even the hulk knew that. Bruce was not his father. He would be good to his partner. Respectful. Caring. Loving. He would be that to Tony. If that’s what Tony wanted. If all his flirting wasn’t just about sex. Bruce would do his best to be a rock for this man he was irreversibly falling for.  
*~*~*  
“Bruce, I am very disappointed in you.” Bruce looked up from his new project. Or maybe it was his old project born again, he could never keep track. Tony was standing in front of him, hands on his hips, looking very accusatory.  
“I’m sorry?”  
“I told you to woo me and all you’ve done is leave me pizza in the fridge. Now, I love pizza but it doesn’t it exactly say, ‘I’m trying to woo you.’”  
“I was not aware that I had actually agreed to wooing you.”  
“The word ‘woo’ is very strange.”  
Bruce nodded and turned back to the project on the table. “You obviously did not look at the pizza very closely.” Tony squinted at him trying to figure out what he meant before stalking over to the fridge and pulling out the mostly empty pizza box. He inspected the outside before opening it stuffing half of a piece of the pizza into his mouth before snatching the post-it note of the inside of the lid. “Dear, Tony,” the note read and he rolled his eyes before continuing to read, “I am not very good at wooing or winning anybody’s heart, but I hope you really will let me try. I am not very romantic but I will do my best. Pepper said your favorite flowers are snapdragons but it is the dead of winter in New York and I can’t find them anywhere but apparently this is your favorite pizza and the sauce is red sorta like part of the flower (I think). I hope you enjoy it. All the best, Bruce.”


	3. California Mansion    (#21)

Tony was bouncing around like an excited puppy. Not that Bruce could see it though because Tony had blindfolded him after they got into the car at the airport. “Alright, alright you can look!” Tony yanked the blindfold off grinning. That grin was the first thing Bruce noticed after his eyes had adjusted to the light. He really wanted to kiss that grin but he knew Tony would kill him if he didn’t look at whatever Tony was showing him right now. They were California, right by the ocean, Bruce could taste the salt, staring up at the most beautiful mansion. 

“It’s self-sufficient like the Tower.” Bruce nodded dumbly back to Tony’s statement as the other man grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the front door. “They finished construction about a month ago but I couldn’t drag you away from work until now.” Jarvis’ familiar voice followed them into the house, greeting them and telling them what the weather was like. “You’re the first person to see it besides me and Pepper. But other than that you’re the fist and-“  
“Tony this house is amazing.”  
“You like it?”  
“I love it. I love you.”  
“Oh Doctor Banner, you’re making me blush.”

The inside of the mansion was as impressive as the outside and Bruce was quickly getting distracted by all the newness of everything. “Show me around?” And that was all Tony needed to pull him around all the floors presenting to him every room and closet. They got hung up in the new lab, everything was so shiny and organized and Jarvis was soon pulling things up for them on holo-screens. And the next couple hours were lost to work even though it was supposed to be a vacation. The rumbling of their stomachs reminded them that there was a whole novel kitchen to be used and Tony knew that the pantry had already been stocked and they were off, Bruce clashing pots and clanging pans and making some curry. 

They ate in the formal dining room just because they could, it didn’t even matter that they were eating off of paper plates and they hadn’t bothered to put the tea in two separate cups. “We still owned the property after the Mandarin, or whatever the hell we’re supposed to call him, destroyed the other place and Pepper said it would be good for the press if we built another one using the arch-reactor technology to show how it could be used in more domestic settings and not just in factory or in a skyscraper. Even though this mansion isn’t exactly your typical domestic setting.”  
“Certainly not.”   
“So the reason that we’re here,” Tony waggled his eyebrows, they had eaten their fill and Tony had made enough innuendoes to make Bruce flush and splutter tea back into their cup.  
“Why are we, Tony? What alterative motive do you have for dragging me away from work?”  
“Well someone’s got to christen this house.”  
“I assume you don’t mean breaking a bottle of spirts against the front door?”

Tony laughed, “You assume correctly. So, let’s ignore the dishes and you can fuck me on this table.”  
“On it or over it?”  
“There are multiple tables here, we do not have to limit our options.”  
“Tony, we are old men.”  
“Viagra?”  
“I am not that old.”  
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, it happens to the best of us.”  
“All I’m saying is that if we do it now, we won’t be able to later on tonight.”

Tony pouted, “We have all week o christen this place properly, and I’m in no rush.” Bruce smiled, this was going to be a long and glorious week.  
“You didn’t answer my original question: on the table or you bent over it?”

Tony decided on the latter option.

*~*~*

Part way through the week Bruce realized he hadn’t put on a pair of real pants since Tony had tugged them off before their sexual endeavor on the dining room table. Tony had been keeping him very busy and mostly naked the whole time they had been at the mansion. Most of the convenient rooms to christen had been. Bruce had, however, felt the need to veto having sex on the stove, no matter how hard Tony pouted, because their sex lives did not need to become that level of interesting. So Tony had settled on regular, old, boring sex where he got to sit on the very nice counter and contaminate it with his bare ass and other body parts.

“Doctor Banner?” Bruce looked up from the book he was trying to read. It had been twenty minutes of staring at the same page, half way trying to understand what the author was getting at but most of his mind had been focused on the idea of Tony trying to give a speech or a demonstration while wearing a plug. A thick one, maybe with ridges or nobs that would press against his prostate every time he shifted but mostly it would be keeping Bruce’s come deep inside where it belonged… He cleared his throat before answering.  
“Yes, Jarvis?”  
“Master Tony is requesting to see you in the master bedroom.”

The bedroom was massive. Bruce’s first apartment could have inside it at least twice. Everything was in shades of cream, brown, sea foam, and pale blue, and it all mirrored the view of the ocean that was given by the floor-to-ceiling windows. It had a separate sitting room, a kitchenette, a fully stocked bar, and a bathroom big enough to bathe a hippo, or a drunken Thor. Tony was waiting for him in the actual bed part of the room, looking more than slightly evil, and his hand lost somewhere between his spread, naked legs.

“So,” Tony began, “We’re leaving in three days and we have yet to fuck in here.” Bruce pretending like the sound he just heard wasn’t Tony sliding lube slicked fingers in and out of himself.  
“Well, after the lab, the entertainment room, the pool then the pool house, and the downstairs linen closets, we were sorta too tired to, god forbid, actually have sex on the bed.”  
“You’re wearing far too many clothes, Doctor.”  
“Then come help me take them off.”

Bruce had the habit, good or bad, of thinking that Tony looked sinful on any given day, doing totally mundane things. Like when he was trying to make one of his robots do something that should have been impossible, Tony’s tongue would pop out from in between his lips that would twitch as he would mouth the equations. Or when, very early in the morning or extremely late at night, he had his hands wrapped so tightly around a mug of coffee and his eyes were half closed. Or eating, or sleeping, or bitching about everything and nothing all at once. So, Tony slinking off the bed to tug at Bruce’s sweatpants maybe shouldn’t have caused his gut to jump as severely as it did. Bruce loved that it still did.

The bed bounced against his weight as Tony pushed him backwards onto it. “I stretched myself because you were taking too long to get here.” Tony made a tsking noise before crawling in between Bruce’s now naked legs. “So all I need to do is get you nice and hard enough. But I don’t think that’ll take long, do you?” Bruce shook his head, already feeling all his blood pooling between his legs. Tony quickly leaned forward and wrapped his lips around the head of Bruce’s cock. 

“Fuuuuck, Tony.” Bruce couldn’t help the whine that had crept into his voice. The beautiful man sucking his dick always seemed hell bent on killing him in the most wonderful ways possible. After a few long, blissfully hard, sucks, Tony pulled his head off, looking to soften the blow by placing little likes as he moved to startle Bruce backwards.  
“Make sure I’m ready for you Doc.”  
Bruce reached for the lube he had earlier seen resting besides the mountain of pillows. Quickly he slicked two fingers and slid them through the relaxed muscles of Tony’s hole. “You’re so perfect, Tony.”

Tony whimpered, resolutely going back to sucking the cock that bobbed before him with every breath he took. He slid himself off of Bruce’s fingers so he could sink himself onto the waiting cock. “So, so perfect.” Tony leaned down to answer Bruce’s comment by demanding a kiss that Bruce was more than willing to give. Bruce let Tony’s tongue fill his mouth and his mind. Erase every thought that wasn’t, “Tony, Tony, perfect, wonderful, gorgeous, Tony.” Where thoughts ended and where they actually became words Bruce wasn’t sure.

All he really knew is that he wanted to stay right here, feeling Tony’s hole clenching around him, being surrounded by this all-encompassing man, forever. And when he had already came and Tony was following him, squealing his name, he thought that maybe he would.


	4. Dummy & Butterfingers (#5)

Bruce groaned and rolled over. “What?” he growled, expecting it to be Tony who had been poking him awake. Dummy made a sad whirring noise and backed away, Butterfingers followed, bumping Dummy congenially. For things that didn’t even haves faces, Tony’s robots were impressively human. A loud beep startled Bruce off the couch in the lab. Jarvis had finished running the scenarios Bruce had asked him to. “Sorry, Dummy.” Dummy poked him again and went back to rearranging a pile of junk on one of the tables.  
Admittedly the robots were one of Bruce’s favorite parts about working with Tony at Stark Tower. They could be incredibly stupid and could get in the way but they were so… sincere. That was something Bruce was not used to, using human adjectives to describe nonhuman things. But the robots were useful and cute. When Tony would enter the lab they would flock to him before being shooed away. They were like puppies. Made of metal. That had no legs. Or adorable wet noses. Bruce had to stop thinking about dogs. There weren’t even theories about what an animal could do to his stress levels.  
“Bruce!” Bruce quickly stepped back to see what Tony wanted and tripped over Butterfingers, falling straight on his butt. Tony’s laugh echoed through the lab. “Bruce, you know better than to hurt the robots. Robots are our friends. They are not out to take over the world. We do not hurt things that are not out to take over the world. We do not hurt our friends.”  
“I know, Tony. Sorry I hurt Butterfingers.”  
“Yeah whatever, he’s tough.” Tony flopped his arms, righted the robot, and patted it on his “head”. “Now what was Jarvis running for you?”  
It was hours and a few take out containers latter that Bruce began the frantic search for his cell phone. “Bruce, I will buy you a new phone.”  
“I know it’s here somewhere and I’ve got notes and stuff on it.”  
“Bruce, you said it was ‘right here’ like five minutes ago.”  
Bruce rolled his eyes and continued to sift through everything that had been near him all day. “Seriously. New. Phone. Apple, Android, whatever you want.”  
“I’ll find it tomorrow, Tony. It’s like anyone other than Natasha ever tries to contact me.”  
They walked into the elevator as Jarvis shut down the lab for the night. “Natasha calls you?”  
“Yeah, she’s keeps trying to set me up on a date. I refuse. She makes puns about the other guy. We hang up.”  
“Natasha never tries to set me up.”  
“Maybe she thinks you’re hopeless.”  
Things kept disappearing from the lab. A screwdriver, keys, small things but very inconvenient things to lose. Bruce knew that Tony and him were not the most observant people but it was unlike them to misplace as much stuff as they had, Tony was becoming suspicious of break-ins but Jarvis had no records of anyone entering the lab except the two of them.  
“Something is afoot here my dear Watson.”  
“Why are you Sherlock?”  
“Look at us, Bruce. I am the hero, you are the gay sidekick.”  
“Sherlock is gay too.”  
“Yes, but people don’t fixate on his sexuality as much as Watson’s. He doth protest too much.”  
“So I’m Watson?”  
“Of course you’re Watson.”  
It had been over a week since Bruce’s phone had disappeared and Bruce was ready to give up and let Tony buy him a new one, His eyelids drifted shut as he thought about that only to have them spring back open as Dummy snatched the papers from the table in front of him. “Dummy get back here!” Bruce chased Dummy through the lab, never quite catching up enough to grab the papers. The robot led him through an open door to a supply closet and flung the papers everywhere before hurrying back out. Bryce sighed and knelt down to gather the papers back together.  
“Butterfingers, I swear to god that I will melt you down for scrap if you don’t stop right now!” Bruce looked up as Tony and Butterfingers came barreling into the closet. Butterfingers dropped the blowtorch he was clutching and scurried off in the same direction Dummy had. “Those robots have gone fucking crazy!” Bruce hmmed his agreement and kept restacking his papers. “I really need to reprogram them. Or maybe these are their rebellious teenage years.”  
Something in the corner of Bruce’s eye caught his attention and Tony followed his gaze. “Hey Bruce, it’s your phone, and my screwdriver, and all that other shit we lost.”  
“No shit Sherlock.”  
“Are you still bitter because I said you were Watson and I was Sherlock?”  
Bruce was about to reply that no, of course he wasn’t or something along those lines when the closet door slammed shut and locked. “Oh god Bruce, we’re gonna die.”  
“Can’t we just ask Jarvis to let us out?”  
“He isn’t installed in here and even if he was it’s a manual lock. We’re trapped! I can’t breathe. What are we gonna do?”  
“Well thankfully, we have full bars.”  
“What are you talking about? You know I don’t carry a phone in the house and you lost—oh yeah.”  
It took Pepper an hour and a half to show up and let them out. Bruce had never been so happy that Tony always kept food in his pockets because of course they had gotten trapped in a closet when he hadn’t eaten in hours.  
“Is this a metaphor, Tony?”  
“Of course not Pepper dear. I was never in that metaphorical closet of which you are referring to.”  
Pepper rolled her eyes and Bruce made a dash for the bathroom. The whole fiasco was forgotten for the rest of the day and didn’t get brought up again until a few days later because Tony had deemed himself “ill fit to work” due to the stress of the situation. And while Tony was gone the robots avoided Bruce.  
“You know Bruce, I am surprised that we didn’t get out of the closet by you turning big and green and angry.”  
“Surprisingly, claustrophobia is not a major stressor for me. Unlike you apparently. You fight in a very close fitting metal suit, how does that even work.”  
“I control the small area. It’s not a box with no lights.”  
Dummy bumped into to Bruce leg and let out a whining noise. “That reminds me,” Tony began, “Jarvis, what was up with us getting locked in that closet the other day?”  
“I do believe it was Butterfingers and Dummy’s way of trying to get you and Doctor Banner to bond, sir.”  
“The robots really are fucking crazy.”  
Bruce smiled and patted Dummy on the head. He sorta hoped Tony never got around to reprogramming them.


	5. Erratic Behavior    (#13)

Tony and Bruce had never actually been on a date. They hardly ever left the Tower together that wasn’t for something that had to do with S.H.E.I.L.D. Even when they were in the Tower everything was too casual for it to seem like any attempt at romance. They just weren’t romantic people it would seem. Small acts of niceness and lots of sex are not the same as romance. So Bruce felt stupid standing in the garish aisle of some drugstore staring at red, white, and pink nick-knacks, cards, and candy boxes. Everything had hearts on it. Ah yes, Bruce thought, that’s perfect for Tony. Lady parts. 

But near the shelf of chocolates and half wilted flowers, there were stuffed animals. Bears, cats, animals that were too far from their natural color for Bruce to pick where in the wild you would find them. Some sported greeting card messages or were made to hold greeting cards. There were some that came up to Bruce’s hip and others that he could hold in hand. And he certainly did not mean to buy one. The bear had just screamed Tony at him and he couldn’t resist.

The bear was a pink and white and had hearts making up paw prints on the bottom of its feet. It was only about ten inches tall but it seemed ridiculously hard for Bruce to hide it in the back of his closet. He couldn’t even go in there without touching it or hugging it or fixing the bow tied around the stuffed animal’s neck. Every once in a while Bruce would start to take it to give to Tony but he never could make himself. It felt rash in a way, even though they’d been together for a while and there were butterflies escaping from the knot in the pit of his stomach. But it made him feel so weird, so the bear stayed hidden in the back of his closet.

“Master Tony is requesting to see you in the dining room, sir,” Bruce looked up from the book he was reading, “He says it’s urgent and that you need to come quickly.” Bruce had thought Tony was out for the day because Bruce hadn’t seen him since the night before and when he couldn’t find him that afternoon when he hit a snag on the project he had been working on and wanted Tony’s opinion he hadn’t been able to find the man anywhere. After that Bruce had retired to his own quarters for what he had assumed would be the rest day. And until Jarvis had asked him to come to the dining room, Bruce had barley given any thought to it being Valentine’s Day. He knew it was the fourteenth somewhere in the back of his mind but the connection had not been drawn.

The dining room was massive. It had been designed for all the Avengers, Pepper, Rhodey, Fury, Hill, Thor’s girlfriend, Dr. Selvig, and basically anyone Tony could think of. Even Agent Coulson had a designated chair. Tony and Bruce were the only consistent residents of the Tower. Pepper hoped back and forth between Malibu and New York, Natasha had gotten assigned to the Triskellion after the battle of New York, as had Steve, Thor was back on Asgard, and Barton has been given a much deserved brake. There were never more than four of them together at a time and with the weird hours they all kept and the habit Tony and Bruce had of just eating in the lab, the dining room had never actually been used.

“Tony, oh my god.” Bruce was stunned when he walked into the room. The room glowed with candles reflecting in the glass table top and low lighting. It looked like there was real china and crystal and silver set in the fanciest place settings Bruce had ever seen. And everything smelled absolutely amazing.   
“I know, isn’t it great.” Tony grinned from across the room. He strolled forwards, hand resting for a moment on Coulson’s seat, and placed a brief kiss on Bruce’s lips, “Now sit down before the food gets cold.”

“This is amazing.” Tony busied himself with pulling the covers off of the serving platters, smiling just enough for Bruce to know that he had heard the compliment. Tony looked expectedly at Bruce so he would remember his manners. “Oh.” Bruce smiled sheepishly as he removed the linen napkin off the top plate, allowing Tony to plate the salad.

It was an absolutely divine five course meal paired with the perfect wines, “Alright I have to go grab desert,”  
“But we just had fruit.”  
“We are not middle class, Bruce, we do not have to settle with fruit for desert. I made a cake. Baking is not my forte!”

Tony looked so appalled that Bruce did not correct him and tell Tony that he, Bruce, actually was middle class. The cake had six layers and after inhaling his slice, Bruce felt like he was going to pop. “Tony, this was so good.”  
“How hard do you think it would be to program Jarvis into this table top so that it can be programed to be hot in some areas and cold in others so food stays at the optimal serving temperatures?”  
“Probably not that hard.”

Tony hmmed, eyes shifting around, figuring variables before settling on the stack of dirty dishes, “I’m so happy that I pay people to clean up my mess. Don’t give me that look, Bruce, I help the economy by providing jobs. So because of generous contribution to capitalism, we can head straight to the bedroom.”

Bruce smiled, loving how animated Tony was, but there was one problem, “If I do anything now, I think I’d throw up.”  
“You’re no fun.” But Tony was still smiling as big as Bruce was. “Fine, no sex. But We’re still gonna go cuddle because you have been borderline malnourished since I met you and I have finally succeeded in fattening you up and now I wanna snuggle without worrying about squishing you.”

Tony was half on top of him, playing with his chest hair, when Bruce remembered the bear. He was finally rising out of his food coma so standing didn’t seem like a terrible idea. “Tony, I’ll be right back.” Tony grumbled but rolled off. Because no one else should be in the Tower, Bruce hurried to his own room in boxers. The stuffed bear looked like he was smiling as Bruce grabbed it and went back to the warmth of Tony’s bed and arms, Tony’s head was buried in his harms when Bruce made it back to the room. “Tony?”  
“Hmmmm?”  
“I-“ Bruce felt silly, it was just a stuffed animal. Tony was a grown man, he could afford to buy the Beanie Baby Company if he wanted to, “I go you something.”

Tony’s mouth hung slightly open as he blinked at the bear Bruce had gingerly set on the bed. “I know it’s not a like a million course meal or anything but-“  
“I love it.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Cutest teddy bear ever.”  
Bruce let out a small sigh of relief. He couldn’t help but be scared when Tony put the bear on the floor, though. “Stop freaking out, baby. I just don’t wanna get come his wonderfully fluffy fur.”

The sex was actually pretty slow for them, soft and caressing rather than quick and desperate. But all sex with Tony was desperate because, look at him, he was perfect. With his fingertips digging into Bruce’s back, Bruce could swear he somehow managed to bed the gorgeous man on the planet that also had the world’s tightest ass. “Bruce, Bruce, I-! I think I’ve decided something.”

“Yeah…” Bruce took a deep breath, trying to keep enough oxygen in his lungs to keep thrusting into Tony’s warm hole and talk, “What’s that?”  
“I like Valentine’s Day. Even with the commercialism, it’s still sorta nice.”

Bruce stilled before responding, wondering just how Tony able to talk right now while Bruce felt like he might come apart at any moment. “I think you’re right.” 

Tony opened his mouth to respond but the answer got lost behind a moan. He finished his train of thought later after the come had been mostly cleaned off of them and Tony had once again made statements about his contribution to the work force by providing them with dirty lines. “You know what else I’m right about, Bruce?”  
“Hm, what?”  
“You. I was right about you.”  
“How were you right about me?”

But Tony was already fast asleep, snuggling his new teddy bear underneath his arm.


	6. Friendship First (#1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well would you look at that... I updated. Wow

Bruce was a little skeptical when he first walked into what was apparently his own personal and private lab at the refurbished Stark Tower. The place was massive and it was obvious that Tony has spared no expense. Tony had ushered Bruce to the lab with a confidence that made Bruce question whether or not it was real. No one in the real world was that suave. 

Tony fussed over everything within a foot of him when they entered the lab. His fingers were in constant motion and the actual people doctor in Bruce found it concerning. He didn’t feel like he could tell Tony that though. Eventually, Tony ran out of things to talk about and left Bruce to his own devices. It felt like being invited to someone else’s house and suddenly finding yourself alone. Half tempted to go through the drawers and the other part, the good and decent part, wanting to not touch anything, maybe to sit on the straightest and least comfortable looking chair available. Bruce stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked around the room for a bit before going back and standing where Tony had left him. The lab was state of the art and Bruce felt ridiculously out of place. Like all of this could not possibly be for him and at any moment Tony was going to come back and tell him to leave. Or even tell him that they were sharing the lab, which would make since, there was so much space and equipment they would probably never even see each other.

“Sir?” Bruce jumped when Jarvis addressed him.  
“Yes?”  
“This lab is for you to use or not use as you please.”   
“Alright?”

Tony had warned Bruce the moment he agreed to move in that Jarvis was a bit of a mother hen. He worried about everything and everyone and he had eyes in the back of his head. Bruce had laughed because only Tony, even the very limited version of Tony Bruce knew, would make and AI who was concerned about wellbeing. “Sir, if you do not want to use any of the equipment in the laboratory, you may go upstairs to you sleeping quarters or any of the communal areas. You do not have to stay here. You are free to go wherever in the Tower you would like.”  
“Thank you?”  
“Or you may stay here and make use of the laboratory. All of the supplies and the equipment Mr. Starke ordered specifically for your use.”

Bruce had to wonder whether Jarvis had said what he said because that was what Jarvis did or because Tony was watching and worrying.  
“Thank you, Jarvis.”  
“My pleasure, Dr. Banner.”

Bruce rolled up his sleeves, there was something he had been meaning to simulate.

~*~*~

Bruce didn’t see Tony for several days. His time was spent puttering around the truly amazing lab and he wanted to thank Tony for it. But every time he went on the hunt for the other man, Tony alluded him. It was like he didn’t even live there. And for the first week or so Bruce didn’t let it bother him. The Tower made him feel small. Hundreds of people passed through the lower levels every day. Super spies lived all around him. Bruce was almost odd man out so it was easier to just stay in his lab and cook in the kitchenette in his living quarters. 

In the end, Bruce’s curiosity won out and he slowly explored every public inch of the Tower. The hallways and corridors started to feel familiar. There were living quarters for all of the Avengers and Bruce was surprised how many of their doors were open to him. Steve, Natasha, and Clint welcomed him with open arms, or cookies in Steve’s case. The four of them started hanging out, playing cards or doing yoga routines or cooking all together. Steve could bake, Clint made the best chili Bruce had ever eaten, and Natasha’s cocktails were as delicious and they were lethal. And they all said they hadn’t seen Tony since moving in. 

One day, in his quest to see every view of New York the Tower could allow him, Bruce found himself on the floor below his lab. He was walking backwards, staring at the sunset when he heard a long string of curse words from somewhere to his right. A door was slightly ajar and he peered his head into what appeared to be a large conference room. “Hello?” he called.  
“Fuck goddamn, fucking cunt!”  
“Hello?”  
“Yeah, I’m fucking in here asshole?”

“Tony? Are you okay?” Bruce had entered the room fully and had found Tony sitting in one of the spinning chairs surrounding the table. His head was in his hands and one of the lightbulbs was flickering. Bruce slowly approached. “Tony?” Tony raised his head and smiled in false cheer.

“Hey Brucie McBrucerton. Did not expect to see you here.”  
“Are you alright, you seem upset?”  
“Oh yeah, I sorta am. But I’ll be fine.”

Bruce sat down in the chair one down from Tony. “Actually, I, and some other people too, have been wanting to thank you for letting us stay here and doing all of this for us.”  
“It’s nothing.”  
“It’s far from nothing.”

Tony laughed and swung his chair around to face Bruce, “I’m just doing it for my own nefarious purposes.” Bruce believed him to an extent. Yes, Tony was probably helping for some selfish reason but Bruce truly doubted it was for any evil scheme. 

“Well, no matter the reason. Thank you. I really appreciate it. The lab and the bedroom and the sense of family you have inadvertently provided. Clint, Natasha, and Steve would probably like to thank you as well. We’re eating pizza and watching Star Wars tonight in Steve’s room if you want to swing by?”  
“Star Trek is better.”  
“So you’ll come?”  
“We’ll see.”

~*~*~

Tony did go and watch the movie. He slunk in a quarter of the way through and Bruce slid over to make room for him on the couch. Everyone was pleased to see him. And it while it took some time, Tony realized that they really did want him there, as part of the group, as part of the family. Then Tony started dropping by Bruce’s lab and Bruce was thrilled. He loved working with other people and he really loved working with Tony. Tony was all enthusiasm all the time. It was heartwarming and adorable and Bruce never wanted him to leave. Clint, Natasha, and Steve sometimes joked that Bruce had created a monster, by inviting Tony to hang it with them, because he was such a mother and worrier, but Bruce knew what it was like to create one, and he knew, without a doubt, that Tony was the opposite. He was all love. No hate, no fear. Just loyalty and fierce, fierce love. Bruce was hooked.


	7. Gospels (#24)

There were certain things that Bruce knew to be indisputable. Grass is green, so is the other guy. Ice is cold and fire is hot. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Aliens are real. And Anthony Edward Stark is the love of his life. Bruce knew that sure. Tony was everything Bruce had never dared to imagine. Smart, funny, sexy as hell. Perfect. Tony was caring and compassionate. He was confident. He was beautiful. He was all that Bruce ever needed and wanted. 

And there was one more thing Bruce knew for sure: he, Dr. Robert Bruce Banner was going to propose. Get down on one knee, the whole shebang. He had nothing resembling a plan, though. He couldn’t even imagine how one would go about creating a huge production for such an event. Bruce knew that Tony would appreciate a show. So Bruce would have to outsource it. 

He was scared to ask Pepper. He knew she would do it and have some great ideas but he just couldn’t imagine asking Tony’s ex-girlfriend about how to propose. There was the team. Thor might know some cool Asgardian traditions. Steve some older ones and Natasha some Russian ones. Clint had been proposed to so he might actually have a clue about what was appropriate. Or he could ask Phil because he actually had proposed to someone. Eventually, Bruce decided to talk to Clint because Clint was the least likely Avenger to talk. Natasha, Steve, and Thor were all terrible gossips. 

Phil was the one who opened the door to Bruce’s timid knock. “Can I help you Dr. Banner?” Bruce blushed needlessly, fingers twisting together.  
“Can I come in?” Phil opened the door all the way and guided Bruce over the threshold and into the spacious apartment in the Tower.  
“Are you here to talk to Clint? He’s around here somewhere.”  
“Uh, yeah, I had a question for him. And for you. Sorta.”

Coulson had lead them into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge and handed Bruce a water bottle. Bruce was a little surprised at the state of Clint and Phil’s apartment. It was tidy but not military precise. There were pictures on the walls and magazines on the tables. The kitchen looked lived in, a few dishes cluttering the sink. And Phil, Phil looked calm, almost sleepy, dressed in loose jeans and soft looking Henley, his wedding band actually on. Their life looked almost normal. Clint came into the kitchen and pressed a gentle kiss to Phil’s cheek after taking in Bruce sitting sheepishly at the bar.

“What’s up?” Clint asked.  
Bruce sucked in a big gulp of air and hurried into what he wanted to say, “I wanna propose to Tony and I have no idea how?” Clint and Phil smiled and turned to look at each other for a moment.  
“I have an idea.” Clint said going and grabbing a phone book from a bookshelf. He flipped through it rapidly and Phil sighed and gave Bruce a once over.  
“You’ve unleashed a beast, I hope you know,” he whispered, voice full of affection.

~*~*~

Clint had planned the whole thing in a matter of days. Phil had even typed out a by the minute schedule of how things were gonna go down. The rest of the team had been involved and Bruce really wished he could just be a casual observer because in actuality the part he had anything to do with it was the pulling out the ring box and going down on one knee, and he really wanted to watch Tony’s face as he went through all of Clint and Phil’s carefully planned hoops. He could kiss Clint for putting it all together.

The day of was a blur for Bruce. He giggled over Thor’s successful attempt to distract Tony. He blushed as Natasha helped him get ready and said he looked handsome. He kept running the scene over in his head, hoping he wouldn’t fuck it all up. What if he dropped the ring? What if he forgot his one line? Clint rushed him into position on the top of the Tower and he startled at every noise that came from below. 

Then he heard Steve and Tony coming and forgot his nerves to smile over Steve’s terrible acting and the fact that Tony came around the corner. “I knew this was you!” Tony exclaimed, running up and kissing Bruce. Bruce’s hands were starting to shake but it was sort of comforting to see someone pushing Natasha’s head down behind the air-conditioning unit, out of Tony’s eye line. “So what’s this all about, Brucie?”  
“I think you know, Tony.”  
“Yeah, I think I do. You still gotta say it, though”  
“Yeah, I think I should.”

Someone wolf whistled and the other five people shushed them in unison. And then, drawing in one final deep breath, Bruce began, “Tony? Tony, will you marry me?”  
“Yes.” Tony whispered, eyes shining, pushing forward to wrap his arms tightly around Bruce’s waist.  
Everyone came crowding around them, Steve and Clint were misty eyed. “I can’t believe you planned this whole day.” Tony said as he extracted himself from the crook of his now fiancé’s neck.

Bruce blushed, “Actually, I didn’t. Clint did.”  
“Aw, baby, you cared enough to ask for help!”

Tony grabbed the back of Bruce’s neck and pulled him forward for a rather passionate kiss. Thor and Natasha whooped in encouragement, egging Tony one. Eventually, Phil cleared his throat trying to get them to pull apart but somehow Bruce couldn’t think of it. He was perfectly content. The man of his dreams had just agreed to be with him for the rest of their natural lives and he was surrounded by the people he cared the most about. And all he really wanted to do was kiss Tony until they were both blue in the face.

“Don’t spoil their fun, love.” Clint murmured pulling Phil against him and trying to give Tony a run for his money. Thor, Steve, and Natasha all glanced at each other, Thor edging towards the other two. Natasha raised both her hands and eyebrows, taking a step back. Steve barely noticed she was no longer beside him before Thor was on him, beard tickling his chin and cheeks.

Natasha waited the impromptu love fest out as patiently as she could but was happy when everyone finally stopped kissing and they headed down for dinner. But no one was happier than Bruce. Maybe Tony was. Maybe they were tied. But Bruce was fucking thrilled.


	8. Howard Stark's A+ Parenting (#9)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and happy holidays everybody!

It wasn’t hard to notice and realize that Tony was big on Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, Tony had called a tree farm in Vermont of all places and had ordered a huge fucking tree for the main gathering area of the Tower. There was also the fake tree in his workshop, the mistletoe in the kitchen, and the garlands everywhere. Iron Man had flown around and hung lights from anywhere that would support them outside, and Tony had programed the lights in the Tower to project a massive Christmas tree that was as tall as the building on the side of it. All the living areas of the Tower smelled like fir and cinnamon sugar. Tony’s work shop was filled with Christmas music and he almost always had a Santa hat perched on his head. He made Bruce smile every time he passed by. It was more than just the hat, though, Tony seemed happier, more energetic, almost bursting with the secrets of what he got everyone. 

It was a day or two before Christmas and Bruce had locked himself away in his room, trying to neatly wrap his presents, when Tony came barging in without knocking. “Bruce, my dear, jolly, Bruce, I need your help.” Bruce smiled at the man bouncing on the balls of his feet and nodded that he was listening, eyes going back to the mess of shiny paper and Scotch tape before him. “We need cookies and candy and sweet stuff like that and you know I can’t bake that good so I need you to do it. I invited practically everyone we know to come tomorrow for this big Christmas baking party and their spending the night the ones who don’t already live here and so I need help.”  
Bruce sighed at his handiwork, “Yeah, I can help out. Steve might even be a bigger help, though, he’s pretty good in the kitchen.”  
“But Steve’s bossy.”  
“Yeah. I’ll help. We’ve got this.”

It wasn’t hard to catch Tony’s infectious spirit and Bruce quickly found all the recipes he needed and ordered in all the ingredients and some extra mixing bowls and spatulas and a cute collection of cookie cutters. At ten a clock in the morning on Christmas Eve the first annual Avenger Friend and Family Backing Extravaganza was a go. Pepper, Rhodey, Jane, Darcy, Sam, Fury, and Hill had all flown in and planned to stay until New Years and the residents of the Tower were thrilled to have them. Tony caught everyone under the mistletoe at least once, besides Coulson who never even ventured towards that doorway. Thor and Jane ended up beneath the mistletoe quite often.

They all baked for a while and then started to get bored and wandered away in pairs when Bruce assured them he had clean up under control. Steve had already busied   
himself prepping the mountain of cookware for the dishwasher when Clint and Phil excused themselves to celebrate some of their own Christmas traditions. Bruce started wiping the counters down, listing to Steve’s muted baritone singing Auld Lang Syne, and starting to drop from his sugar high. Steve’s song was interrupted when Tony came in singing Jingle Bell Rock at the top of lungs. He swung an arm around Bruce’s shoulder. “Have I kissed you yet?” He asked, voice slightly slurred, “That Darcy girl really knows how to kiss. You should try her out Captain.” Tony moved over to embrace Steve, “Come on, Captain Tight Pants, she’s pretty cute. Not my type. I’m more into dick these days, but I bet you still love pus—“  
“Tony!” Steve interjected.

Bruce willing cradled Tony in his arms when he came over with a huge pout. “Shh, shh,” He soothed, managing to pry Tony’s eggnog out of his grasp, “He’s a mean old man.” Tony giggled at Steve, who just shook his head and smiled.

“Hey!” Tony exclaimed after a moments pause, “You never answered my question! Have I kissed you yet?” His eyes were huge as he stared up at Bruce.  
“Yes, you kissed me Tony.”  
“Really? Don’t remember. Think I’ve got to do it again.”  
“We aren’t under the mistletoe, Tony.”

Steve excused himself, patting Bruce on the shoulder as he slipped past, all the dishes loaded in and the machine started. Tony looked up, stumped for minute but then got that glimmer of an idea in his eyes. “Then I want you to give me a kiss for Christmas.” He closed his eyes and puckered his lips. Bruce found it hard to deny him, even though he knew he should. Tony was drunk. Bruce wanted to do it too badly. But he still leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against Tony’s lips. “Merry Christmas, Tony.”  
“Take me to bed?”

The phrase seemed more innocent than it did an invitation for something more. Bruce led Tony by the hand to his massive bedroom. Tony fingered the sock hanging from the end of his bed and Bruce wondered if he was supposed to leave now. “You need a sock.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“A sock. For-“ Tony cut himself off and went into the closet and come back out with a black dress sock. He handed the sock to Bruce and motioned him to the foot board. Bruce didn’t understand why he was doing what he was doing but he knew he’d do a lot of things to make Tony happy.  
Tony looked satisfied when he saw the two socks hanging side by side. “Now sleep.” Bruce commanded softly, tousling Tony’s hair and shoving him gently towards the bed.  
“You too?”

Bruce sighed. “Here?” Tony nodded and patted the spot on the bed beside him. “I don’t have any pajamas.” Bruce knew he wanted to stay, he wanted to be close to his friend. Tony shrugged and stripped down to his underwear, crawled under the covers, and gave Bruce a look that said ‘your turn’. Bruce complied. Not stopping to think what the consequences, if any, might be. 

“Bruce? Bruce, wake up.” Bruce grumbled for a moment before opening his eyes. Tony grinned down at him. “It’s Christmas, Bruce.” Suddenly, a neatly folded pair of flannel pajamas were dropped on his chest. “Everyone’s started to get up, Steve’s got the coffee ready, so it’s time for you to get presentable and then it’s time for presents.” Tony left the room and Bruce checked the time. He’d gotten used to getting up later at the Tower and six in the morning felt awfully early to be awake on a holiday.

He got dressed and wandered into the living room, accepting the mug of coffee Sam handed him with an understanding look. Darcy and Steve were deep in conversation and Bruce could see Tony fliting around, trying to draw everyone around the tree. Bruce was perfectly content to sit and watch the lights on the tree and everyone filing in, dressed in their matching pajama’s Tony had bought them.

There were presents for everyone and no one got over looked even in such a large crowd. They napped, cuddling with whoever was closet when the last of wrapping paper had been cleared away. The day was lazy up until five pm when the Christmas Supper buzz began and Coulson and Pepper started to prep a feast and Thor regaled them with stories of Yule time on Asgard. Everyone was smiling and laughing and talking to everyone. Bruce rejoiced inwardly at the family all around him.

Before everyone sat down to supper, Tony drew him aside. “I’m sorry about last night.” Tony didn’t apologize often and Bruce wasn’t entirely sure why he was apologizing now.  
“What for?”  
“Oh, you know, just being needy and such.”

Bruce smiled, resisting the urge to stroke Tony’s cheek or kiss him again. “Hey, Tony, we’re friends, I’ll always be there for you when you feel like you need to be a little needy.”

It was Tony’s time to smile, “I don’t know what it is about Christmas that makes me like this.”  
“Was your family big on Christmas?”

Tony shrugged, “Outwardly, for the press, and it wasn’t like I got socks for presents or anything, it was just lonely. Mom and Dad out at gatherings until late and didn’t get up until like eleven or something so I’d open gifts with Jarvis and why am I telling you all of this?” Tony stopped, sounding exasperated with himself. “Sorry.”  
“Don’t be, Tony. And now, you’ve got this huge family all around you. I was thinking about that earlier. How this, this team or whatever, feels exactly like people always talked about how families should feel. I know we aren’t the perfect nuclear family, but we work. We love each other.”  
“I love you, Bruce.”  
“I love you too, Tony.”

They went and sat down at the table and passed the dishes down the row. They drank and ate and laughed. They both felt like something had shifted, that things were infinitely better now. They gave each other soft smiles throughout the evening, feeling like they shared some sort of secret now but where happier yet to know that everyone else there, shared in it too.


End file.
